Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (Full Version)

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solo_soprano22 -> Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 12:41:00 PM)

Yes, I know many deal with this in college.

I feel like I'm punished in classes if I get sick and have to miss a day... or lately have jury duty, or if they want me to do "extra" scheduled things outside of class that I can't do because I have (gasp) other classes besides theirs. I don't get it.... I mean, I get it, but what am I supposed to do? [&:] I've always tried to be the best student I can be, but just can't skip other people's classes to satisfy the other professors'...demands.

Ugh. I hate this semester and I just started.



miasma -> RE: Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 12:45:02 PM)

Do the best you can, accept you've done the best you can, and move on. No point stressing about it.

You have to realize, if professors didn't set stringent attendance policies, people would take full advantage of it.

If it comes to a point where you truly can't do what is being required of you, make an appointment with that professor and discuss it with them. Calmly and rationally, no tears or whining*. Approach them with a game plan (for example, show them the work you have done, and ask for a specific extension).


*I don't know if you would get emotional/try to pull that stunt, but students do. It's embarrassing (on their part).

Take a smaller course load, if it's too much.



solo_soprano22 -> RE: Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 3:33:41 PM)

I'm just frustrated.

I don't have a lot of hours, but every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I'm at another university. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days I set aside for classes at my home institution. I have four classes in all, Spanish (third semester), Voice, a (rough) Chemistry, and Biology Senior Seminar. Voice doesn't give me a problem; chemistry really only gives me a problem because it's difficult (the only thing I could see is that I might not be able to make office hours, but I think his ONE office hour is a time I'm actually there-- but he usually doesn't make outside-of-class demands). Spanish class has a lab, and both lab and class are giving me issues already. The lab has audio/video files, and they ARE on the student blackboard, but the professor can't get them to work...so that means that we have to go to lab, leave, then come back on our own time later that day to finish what we don't get done. Problem is that I have Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at another institution. (I leave straight from lab to go there all day.) Now they're telling me that I'll have to come back later in the day to complete the work, but there is no "later," unless the other university has a holiday or I can get out early. I don't think I can buy the supplements for the lab...probably because the stuff we have for at-home use is actually supposed to work. The class has similar issues. Senior seminar is just demanding because I have to do field work... and her field work cuts into the classes I have afterwards. A lot of us are having issues with some of those...she just tells us to tell the professor we'll be absent or late, but I've found that the language professors here are some of the best ones at making things difficult when they already were, and they're rigid about attendance. I think that they won't even let me make up the work (fully) that I miss for jury duty (I'm trying to get it moved though).



ta_mosquito -> RE: Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 4:45:40 PM)

Can you plead extenuating circumstances for the jury duty?

Any chance of just dropping Spanish for now? That sounds like the worst class of the bunch.



solo_soprano22 -> RE: Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 6:51:07 PM)

I've love to drop Spanish; the only reason why I'm taking it is that we have to have four semesters of a foreign language to graduate. I took the first two semesters, so now I have the last two. If I wait for the next "cycle," I'll graduate another year late. :(

It's a university-excused absence, but the language dept. doesn't really care as a whole. The point of the university excusing it is so that you can make up whatever you missed without being penalized, but the language dept. (here) doesn't do that....they may let you make up say half of something, but once you miss, you know your points are basically gone. Ugh.

Spanish classes bother a lot of people...I'm sure other commuters have other things to do as well, and can't just randomly come to campus every day to finish lab work. The point was that if you don't finish it in lab, you can take it home and finish, but with them not being able to put the audio/video online, you HAVE to go back to THAT lab room to get to the stuff. And half the time some other lab class is in there and you can't get to it. My first semesters were good about that though; if we didn't get done they actually made sure the online stuff would work from any computer so we had a decent chance. Lol.



stellaluna -> RE: Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 7:16:00 PM)

Can you not get out of jury duty? In Texas, you get excused if you are enrolled at a college or university.

As for the other...yeah, every professor thinks their class is the only one you're taking. [8|] Just do your best. It will all be over eventually. There was one semester that I ended up with papers/projects in four classes due the same week. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. Obviously I didn't. [;)]



Miss Giggles -> RE: Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 7:21:16 PM)

Wow I think I had it easy. Our labs were voluntary and were just some supplemental tapes for spanish.

Id get out of Jury duty too. You're almost done with school though so just get through whatever you have left.



solo_soprano22 -> RE: Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 10:28:02 PM)

Yeah, they said all I can do is move it......if that. :( They don't care if you're a student. [8|]

Languages over here are crazy. I mean, I suppose they're trying to make sure you learn the stuff... but at the expense of about 100% of your time and adding about 99% more stress than what you already had. Chemistry does the same thing though. Spanish lab... it's like one of the worst things ever. (Referring to the kind of labs they make you do here. Other places around seem better about it.)



OneOfHisJewels -> RE: Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 10:37:22 PM)

Solo, my advice is to drop the Spanish class, take it at a community college in the summer, and transfer the credit in.



OneOfHisJewels -> RE: Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 10:39:38 PM)

quote:


As for the other...yeah, every professor thinks their class is the only one you're taking. Just d


Actually my high school was far worse about it then my college was, and at least in college with the classes being on alternate days, I felt like I had day to get my homework done. Plus high school never gave us those nifty syllabi, that help you know what's expected all semester.

Also, my college professors took personal circumstances into account. My high school teachers didn't.



Miss Giggles -> RE: Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 10:45:37 PM)

But in reality you aren't going to be fluent in Spanish unless you get to speak with native speakers because of the slang and dialect so all you really need is a decent grade to pass. Your school makes a lot of things difficult.. I know its too late for you to transfer but goodness it sounds likes it been a big problem.



iluvatar -> RE: Sometimes I feel penalized for everything (vent) (8/27/2008 10:52:19 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: solo_soprano22

I've love to drop Spanish; the only reason why I'm taking it is that we have to have four semesters of a foreign language to graduate. I took the first two semesters, so now I have the last two. If I wait for the next "cycle," I'll graduate another year late. :(

It's a university-excused absence, but the language dept. doesn't really care as a whole. The point of the university excusing it is so that you can make up whatever you missed without being penalized, but the language dept. (here) doesn't do that....they may let you make up say half of something, but once you miss, you know your points are basically gone. Ugh.

Spanish classes bother a lot of people...I'm sure other commuters have other things to do as well, and can't just randomly come to campus every day to finish lab work. The point was that if you don't finish it in lab, you can take it home and finish, but with them not being able to put the audio/video online, you HAVE to go back to THAT lab room to get to the stuff. And half the time some other lab class is in there and you can't get to it. My first semesters were good about that though; if we didn't get done they actually made sure the online stuff would work from any computer so we had a decent chance. Lol.


I'm not one to raise a stink with authority, but you'd have a valid reason to take this to the dept head or somebody else high up in the chain of command. It's one thing to expect a science lab to be completed in a particular facility - but those are usually factored into the schedule. Language labs are another entirely - they designed and scheduled the class to be able to be completed outside and now they can't get their stuff working. They should be handing out dvd's or offering the material up on the web.

-Dan.



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